The second Gridiron Football Elite Camp at Covington High School turned out to be a big event in St. Tammany Parish as a record number of over 80 kids participated in the camp. For the second year in a row, Gridiron Football decided to have a camp in the area after hosting a camp at Northshore High School last year. The move to have it again in the area and at Covington High School proved to be a good move.
It was also the first camp in which each player participant received their own shirts to use for the camp. Offensive players wore white while defensive players wore red. It was a great look for the camp and it made it very easy to distinguish who was on each side of the football. As always, Gridiron Football CEO Andy Bryson talked to the players before the start of the camp and gave them advice on what colleges are looking for.
The pre-camp discussion also served as an opportunity for the coaches to introduce themselves to the players. After the talk, it was time for the camp to start and the action began with the combine as each player got their measurables for the 40 yard dash, three cone shuttle, and broad jump.
Five players were able to crack into the 4.5’s for the 40 yard dash including Jewel Sumner High School 2027 CB Rashaud Shy, who led the way with a 4.52 recorded time. Also dipping in that range was Peabody High School 2025 WR Daylen Gatson (4.54), Covington High School 2025 RB Ronald Robinson (4.54), Ascension Catholic High School 2025 RB Chad Elzy Jr. (4.57), and Covington High School 2027 LB Carter Pearson (4.58).
For the three cone shuttle, seven players were able to run in the 4.3’s with Vandebilt Catholic High School 2025 RB Cole St. Pierre leading the way with a 4.31 time. Covington High School 2025 LB Chase Blackwell (4.35), St. Paul’s High School 2025 QB Brennan Keim (4.35), Northshore High School 2025 LB Rogie Magie III (4.37), Picayune Memorial High School 2025 WR Brandon Parker Jr. (4.37), St. Paul’s High School 2026 FS Aiden Brooks (4.38), and Archbishop Hannan High School 2027 RB Vincent Sclafini (4.38) all ran under a 4.40 in the three cone shuttle.
Ascension Catholic High School star 2025 running back and former Gridiron Football Player of the Week Chad Elzy Jr. set a Gridiron Football Elite Camp record on Saturday with a 10’5 broad jump, which broke Pine High School 2024 RB and Gridiron Football All-American James Owens‘ 10’4 record last year. Elzy certainly opened a lot of eyes at the camp with his record breaking jump, but there were a lot of other big jumps at the camp as 13 different players jumped over 9 feet including Tioga High School 2025 WR Kejuan Kyle (9’7), Salmen High School 2025 DE DJ Jenkins (9’6), St. Paul’s High School 2025 LB Cale Daigle (9’5), Peabody High School 2025 QB James Lucas IV (9’5), Archbishop Hannan High School 2027 RB Vincent Sclafini (9’4), St. Paul’s High School 2026 LB Brady Boyer (9’2), St. Paul’s High School 2025 QB Brennan Keim (9’1), St. Paul’s High School 2026 Dylan Post (9’0), and Denham Springs High School 2027 CB Jaydn Washington (9’0).
After the combine, players got the chance to break off with their position coaches and learn techniques that will help them better their craft. Putting that all together, the camp ended on a high note with some great competition. The quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, defensive backs, and linebackers all got some good 1v1 and 7v7 work while the offensive and defensive linemen worked 1v1s, 2v1s, and of course, the popular tire pull drill.
Starting with the offensive and defensive linemen, Covington High School 2025 OT Abrum Lewis stood out. At 6’6, 315, Lewis showcased his power, strength, footwork, and flexibility as he was dominant in every drill he participated in. Salmen High School 2025 DE DJ Jenkins showed why he is being offered by Power Five schools showing off his flexibility, twitchiness, and quick first step. Isidore Newman High School 2025 defensive tackle/defensive end Justin Wells, Mandeville High School 2026 DT Chance Grant, St. Paul’s High School 2025 defensive end Ashton Bedford, and Bogalusa High School 2025 DT Joshua Cooley showed off their motor and relentless pursuit during 1v1s and in the tire pull.
When it comes to the skills guys, they put themselves on a show as well. During the 1v1s, there was a lot of intense back and forth action between the wide receivers and the defensive backs. Covington High School 2026 RB Jake Pompa made a nice double move on a touchdown catch. Covington High School 2026 QB Andrew Reynolds and Slidell High School 2025 QB Landon McGrath showed nice touch and accuracy as they each threw a couple of touchdowns during 1v1 drills as well as St. Paul’s High School 2025 QB Brennan Keim, who showcased all the physical tools as he makes every throw seem effortless. He connected on a couple of nice touchdowns including one beautiful dime over the shoulder to Martin Luther King High School 2025 WR Christian Doyle. Leesville High School 2026 WR Marquale Williams, Salmen High School RB/WR Christian Brown, St. Paul’s High School 2025 WR Stone Celestin, Covington High School 2026 WR Jiwaun Brock, and Peabody High School 2025 WR Daylen Gatson were consistently making big plays offensively during 1v1s. Even the running backs showed off their route running as Ascension Catholic High School 2025 RB Chad Elzy, Picayune Memorial High School 2025 RB Brandon Parker, and Vandebilt Catholic High School 2025 RB Cole St. Pierre displayed their quickness and ability to cut on a dime. Perhaps, the most impressive play of the day came from St. Paul’s High School 2026 WR Troy Willis, who made a spinning one handed catch that was thrown behind him during 1v1s.
However, it was not just the offense making plays, but the defense showed up as well. Jewel Sumner High School 2027 CB Rashaud Shy made not one, but two impressive interceptions while Mandeville High School 2025 WR/DB Emil Allen also added an interception. Allen showcased his best Charles Woodson and Deion Sanders impersonation as he not only had interceptions on defense, but he also scored a touchdown as a receiver as well. Booker T. Washington High School 2025 CB Jabori Johnson had a couple of PBUs and the linebackers displayed their coverage skills too. Amite High School 2026 LB Osvaldo Razo, St. Augustine High School 2026 LB Rashad McKendall, St. Paul’s High School 2026 LB Brady Boyer, and St. Paul’s High School 2026 LB Dylan Post all were able to hang with the wide receivers and running backs during 1v1s.
During 7v7, Peabody Magnet High School 2025 QB James Lucas IV fired over the middle and threw a touchdown pass to Tioga High School 2025 WR Kejuan Kyle, who found a hole in the defense and outran everybody to the end zone. The next play, the defense steps up with Northshore High School 2025 LB Rogie Magee III getting a pick six. Two St. Paul’s teammates made a nice connection as Brennan Keim found Stone Celestin for a big play. Covington High School 2026 QB Andrew Reynolds and St. Paul’s 2026 RB/WR Troy Willis connected on a nice back shoulder pass for a touchdown during 7v7. Slidell High School 2025 QB Landon McGrath showed what he can do with the deep ball as he found the speedy Brandon Parker from Picayune, Mississippi for a deep touchdown. Those were just some of the explosive highlights to end the camp.
At the end of the camp, the coaches gave out their top performers of the camp. Each top performer was awarded Gridiron Football gloves for their overall big camp. Six players earned the honor as St. Paul High School 2025 QB Brennan Keim, St. Paul’s High School 2025 WR Stone Celestin, Covington High School 2025 OT Abrum Lewis, Picayune Memorial High School 2025 RB Brandon Parker Jr., Mandeville High School 2025 WR/DB Emil Allen, and Isidore Newman High School 2025 DE/DT Justin Wells each earned gloves for their impressive performance.
After having spring practice at Southeastern, former Covington High School and Gridiron Football All-American Logan Potter came back to his alma matter to see the camp as the current Lions offensive lineman was very pumped to see that Gridiron Football was working with his high school.
“It’s awesome. I love Covington. Obviously, it is a home for me. This is my team. This is my home here. The fact that Gridiron and Covington were helping me and for them to come back and work together to put this event together, it can’t be much better than that. I am glad that I got to come back home to see my former coaches at Covington and to see the people at Gridiron that helped me go to college.”
Southeastern Louisiana OL and former Gridiron Football All-American Logan Potter
Like Logan Potter, Gridiron Football is continuing to help athletes get the best out of their abilities while also giving them exposure to help them transition to the next level. For coming to the Gridiron Football Elite Camp at Covington High School, each player also got the opportunity to get interviewed and will be in our digital magazine, which will be posted next week.
Before the magazine recapping the camp is released, make sure to check out all of our video interviews and video coverage from another spectacular Gridiron Football Elite Camp!
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